Fly-trap



3 Sheets-Sheet. 1.

PatentedApr. 7, 1,896.

Y A. TUFFNELL.

FLY TRAP.

(No Model.)

(No Model.) 3` sheets-sheet 2.

A. TU-FPNBLL. FLY TRAP.

N0.557,919. A PnnriwiApr.7,1896.

(No Model.) A TUFPNELL 3 sheets-sheet s. FLY TRAP y Patented Apr. 7,1896.

APW n UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

ALBERT TUFFNELL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FLY-TRAP.

srncxFIcATI-ON forming part or Letters `Patent No. -7557,919, datedApril '7, 189e.

Application filed January 12,1895. Serial No. 534,710, (No model.)

To all whom it may con/cern.-

Be it known that I, ALBERT TUFFNELL, gentleman, a citizen of the UnitedStates, of Manhattan Building, Chicago, Illinois, but at presentresiding at 122 Alderney Street, South Belgravia, London, in the countyof Middlesex, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin or Connected with Fly-Traps, of which the following is a specication.

The invention relates to improvements in or connected with iiy-traps.

Many devices have 'been suggested for catching or destroying flies andsuch as poison-papers moistened with water or papers coated with asticky substance; but these devices, although to some extent effective,are objectionable for various reasons. For example, the poisoned fliesfrom the former lie about the table and fall into the food, added towhich they crawl about in a helpless and unpleasant manner, while thelatter device has such an objectionable appearance that it is seldomemployed on that account. A further device consists of a bell-likevessel mounted upon feet and provided with a trough of poison or otheriiuid. But all of these devices are only adapted to be placed insituations where flies are least likely to be attracted.

Now by studying the habits of the iiy I have discovered that it isattracted by light, especially daylight, and flies toward the window,and there gradually crawls upward until its progress is arrested by theceiling or some other obstacle, when it ilies away and returns to thewindow, but in a different position,and again commences its upwardmovement. Now I have taken advantage of this peculiar habit of the y toconstruct my trap in such manner that it. can be placed against thewindow in a suitable position to intercept and capture the iiy in itsupward movement.

In carrying my invention into eifect I form the trap with a solid frontor base, which may be of wood, metal, or other suitable material andopaque, or of glass and transparent or semiopaque or translucent, andthe back, top, and sides of the cage I form of zinc or the like,perforated in an ornamental manner, or of other .perforate material, forthe purpose of admitting light to the interior of the cage,

or the back may be formed partly of imper` forate material. The top ofthe cage I form at a suitable inclination or angle with the front inorder to lessen the quantity of metal employed, and thus cheapen thecost of construction, and at the same time give an ornamental appearanceto the device, andthe bottom of the cageI shape to a corresponding anglewith the top; but instead of forming it of perforated or like metal Iform it out of tin plate or other material having a bright surfaceadapted to attract the fly, and I leave the bottom bright on its underside, so that in approaching the trap the y will be attracted, while Iblacken or dull its upper side, so that when trapped the fly will not beattracted in the direction of the ways or inlets. Along its inneredge-that is to say, at its point of junction with the front-I form thebottom with a number of slots or openings constituting ways throughwhich the iies can enter the trap, while the pieces of ymetal displaced-in forming the slots are turned up in the shape of tongues, whichproject upward in an angular direction and act as detents to prevent thereturn of the flies through the ways.

The bottom of the trap is formed inclined, and the perforated zinc orthe like forming the back and sides of the trap descends a shortdistance below the bottom, so that immediately the fly in its" upwardcrawl gets above the lower edge of the perforated metal it is virtuallyconned thereby and by the inclined formation of the bottom and compelledto crawl through one of the ways into the trap above, which he is in nodegree reluctant to do, inasmuch as he can see the light above the ways.

The bottom of the trap is hinged to the front or back in such mannerthat it may be readily opened in order t0 remove the captured flies whendesired.

I find by experiment that a curious feature of this trap is thatthe'iesfor some reason that at present I am unable to explain do notv live morethan a few hours after finding their way into the trap.

The trap is intended to be placed in a window, and for this purpose itis hung from its upper part by means of a wire or cord or a chain, whichis attached thereto in such a position that the lower edge of the frontby IOO the weight of the body of the trap will be held close against theglass of the window in a position best suited to intercept the iiiescrawling thereon.

The front of the trap, which, as hereinbefore stated, may be of wood,metal, glass, or other suitable material, if intended for public houses,restaurants, hotels, shops, or other public places has painted orotherwise marked thereon a name-or other advertisement or device, and insome cases the back may be similarly marked.

The trap may bc formed of any suitable dimensions, according to the areaof the window in which it is to be placed; but in order to bethoroughly7 effective it should extend across the window from side toside thereof; but in other respects the dimensions of the trap need onlybe comparatively small.

In order that the said invention may be more clearly understood andreadily carried into effect, l will proceed, aided by the accompanyin gdrawings, more fully to describe the same.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is an inside elevation of part of a windowhaving suspended therein a fly-trap constructed according to the presentinvention. Fig. 2 is an outside elevation thereof. Fig. 8 is a verticaltransverse section thereof. Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse section of aportion of the fly-trap separately. Fig. 5 is a vertical longitudinalsection taken on the line 1 1 of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is an under side viewthereof. Fig. 7 is an under side view of the bottom of the cageseparately. Fig. 8 is an end view thereof. Fig. 9 is a vertical sectionrepresenting a slight modification, and Fig. 10 is a section taken onthe line 2 2 of Fig. 9. Fig. 11 is a back elevation of a fly-trap,representing a further slight modification; and Fig. 12 is a perspectiveview, partly in section, of the bottom of the device, representing amodified formation of holes or inlets. Fig. 13 is a perspective View ofthe complete device shown and described with respect to Figs. 1 to 8.

In the several figures, in which like parts are indicated by similarletters of reference, Figs. 4 to l0 and 12 and 13 are drawn to anincreased scale with respect to Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 11.

Referring to Figs. 1 to S, a represents the frame of the window-sash,and a represents the glass mounted therein, and CL2 represents an eye orhook from which the fly-trap is suspended, as hereinafter described.

b represents the front or base of the ilytrap, which is formed solid orimperforate and of wood, metal, or other suitable material, andnecessarily opaque, or it might be formed of glass, celluloid, or thelike, and transparent or semiopaque or translucent.

The back c, top c, and sides c2 of the cage are formed of zinc or thelike perforated in an ornamental manner, as represented at Fig. 4, or ofother perforate material-such,

for example, as wire-gauze, as represented at Fig. l-so long as theopenings or perforations are of such area that they will admit anefficient supply of light to the interior of the cage.

The top c of the cage is formed at a suitable inclination or angle withthe front b, in order to lessen the quantity of metal employed in theconstruction of the device, and thus cheapen the cost of productionthereof,while at the same time the inclination of the top c gives anornamental appearance to the device. The bottom d is shaped or arrangedto an angle corresponding with the top c', so that it will act as a wellto receive the dead flies; but instead of being constructed ofperforated or like metal it is formed of tin, tin-plate, or othersuitable material having a bright surface adapted to attract the ily,and the bottom d on its under side is left with its bright surfaceexposed, so that in approaching the trap, as hereinafter explained, thefly will be attracted thereby, while the upper or inner side of thebottom d is blacked or dulled, so that when trapped within the cage theily will not be attracted in the direction of the ways or inletshereinafter referred to.

Along its inner edgethat is to say, at its point of junction with thefront b-the bottom d is formed with a number of slots or openings cl,constituting ways through which the flies can enter the trap, while thepieces of metal cl2 displaced in forming the slots d are turned up inthe shape of tongues,which project upward in an angular direction, asshown more particularly at Fig. 4, and act as detents to prevent thereturn of the flies through the ways d.

The perforated zinc or the like forming the back c and sides c2 iscaused at c* to extend a short distance below the bottom, and theperforated metal is at c3 continued a short distance underneath thebottom, so that immediately that the fly in its upward crawl gets abovethe lower edge of the perforated metal c* and the part c3 it isvirtually con fined thereby and by the inclined formation of the bottomd and compelled to crawl through one of the ways d" into the trapabove,which he is in no degree reluctant to do, inasmuch as he can seethe light above the ways d, which is admitted into the cage through theperforated material forming the top c', back c, and sides c2.

The bottom (l of the trap is hinged to the back c at df, or it might behinged to the front b in such manner that it may be readily turned uponits hinge in the direction of the dotted lines, as indicated at Fig. 4,in order to open the cage and facilitate the removal of the capturedflies, while in order to retain the bottom or door d in its closedposition a spring-catch cl3 is employed, which is xed with the bottom dand formed with a nose d3* to engage the descending part c3, thusholding the bottom d securely locked in its closed IOO IIO

position until it is desired to open the cage, when by pressing upon thepart d3 the bottom (l may be readily released.

When the cage or trap is formed of considerable length, it is desirableto employ a spring-catch cl3 at each end of the device, as will bereadily understood.

The trap is intended to be placed in a window, and for this purpose itis provided at its upper part with ears e, to which a cord or chain e/is attached, by the aid of which the device maybe suspended from a hookor eye a2, fixed with the window-frame, as shown at Figs. l, 2, and 3,and the ears e are fixed in such a position with relation to the body ofthe cage that the lower edge of the front h by the weight of the body 0fthe trap will be held close against the glass a of the window in aposition best adapted to intercept the iiies crawling thereon.

The front h of the trap, which, as hereinbefore stated, may be of wood,metal, glass, or other suitable material, if intended for public houses,restaurants, shops, or other public places, may have painted orotherwise marked thereon a name or other advertisement or device, and insome cases the back c may be similarly marked, as hereinafter described.

The trap may be formed of any suitable dimensions, according to the areaof the window in which it is to be placed; but in order to be thoroughlyeective it should extend across the window from side to side thereofthatis to say, as far as the sheet of glass is continuous-but in otherrespects the dimensions of the trap need only be comparatively small.

In the example given at Figs. 9 and 10 the device is substantially thesame as that represented in the previous:flgures; but in this case thebottom or door d, instead of being hinged to the body of the trap, isformed to slide into position through an opening 021, formed in the sidec2, and in order to hold it in position a trough-shaped guide CZ* isfixed with the back c, into which one edge of the bottom CZ is adaptedto slide, the other edge being supported by resting against the front h,and in order to prevent the bottom d becoming accidentally detached fromthe body of the trap a turn-button cl3 is employed, which engages theend of the bottom d and retains it in its closed position, and theturn-button d3 at the same time closes an enlarged opening @2*:1 in theside c2, provided to permit the passage of the tongues d2.

In the example given at Fig. ll the back c of the trap is formedgenerally of imperforate material, but with an opening therein c overedby a sheet of perforated metal c, the sides c2 and top c being formed inthe manner hereinbefore described with respect to the previous figures,and in this case the back c, in addition to the front b, affords asurface suitable tool, so that the displaced metal stands up in theinterior of the case somewhat in the form of a broken truncated cone,and in this case the tongue d2 is dispensed With, the displaced metalbeing sufficient to prevent the escape of the imprisoned flies.

By means of this invention a simple and inexpensive device is providedby the aid of which a room, shop, store, dwelling, or other place may bekept free from iiies Without any of the unpleasant consequences arisingfrom the employment of less elfective devices, such as poison-papers orthe like, as hereinbefore set forth.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the saidinvention andV in what manner the same is to be performed, I declarethat what I claim is 1. A ily-trap, constructed to admit light to itsinterior, shaped to lie close against the glass of a window with anopening provided in the bottom of the cage near to the front edge forthe admission of the fiies and means for preventing the return of theiiies through such openings and meansfor suspending the device in awindow substantially as herein shown and described and for the purposestated.

2. A ily-trap of substantially the character specified, shaped to lieclose against the glass of a window, and having sides descending belo'Wthe bottom and openings, in the bottom near to the front for theadmission of the flies with means for preventing the return of the fliesthrough such openings, substantially as shown and described and for thepurpose stated.

3. A fly-trap comprising a cage adapted to `lie against the glass of awindow, and a bottom inclined downwardly and outwardly in a directionaway from the window with openings provided therein near its Vupperedge, adjacent to the window for the admission of the flies, and meansfor preventing the return of the iiies, substantially as herein shownand described and for the purpose stated.

4. A fly-trap comprising a cage formed to admit light to the interiorand at the front shaped to lie close against the glass of a Window, anumber of openings in the bottom near to the front for the admission ofthe lilies a tongue overhanging each opening in orderV IOO IIO

